How Do You Measure Excellence?

“Conservative Christian upbringing,” he said at the outset of the coaching call as he described some of his background.

“A strong accent on doing good things for others. Which is good,” he noted. “But like… all the time. Are you doing enough good? Is it up to standard?”

He assumed that was why he could not help but want excellence in every aspect of life at all times.

Parenting. Marriage. Entrepreneurship. Health. Hobbies.

“This kind of excellence is what I want… but also, like…” and then he went quiet for a moment before saying, “The lows are pretty low - even dark - when I’m not meeting my standard. I’m so tired of the extremes.”

Ever felt the crush of a wonderful thing?

Who doesn’t love excellence?

Want to exude excellence?

Pursue excellence?

Produce excellence?

But what happens when the noble standard itself proves impossible?

Even a kind of crushing enemy?

Later in the conversation I asked him a version of a question I sometimes invite from the more musically-oriented among my clients: “How do you describe the song that is playing through your life right now?” A certain sound? Instrumentations? Pianissimo? Forte?”

He didn’t immediately describe it.

It prompted within him something even deeper than ‘the answer.’

“You know, over in China there are kids learning how to play classical music absolutely perfectly on the piano. Like they hit ever note on the page exactly as it is written,” he said (much as he himself learned the piano).

“But you know what?” His voice now notably rising, “They lose the heart and soul of the whole thing… All music, no soul!”

He nearly shouted the final line.

“Do you remember how our conversation started today?” I then asked.

Silence.

Then slowly…

“I want the kind of excellence that isn’t prescribed on page,” he offered. “In fact, I have some it already because my life is a jazz band right now. The people around me are jumping in and out of different instruments. I’m doing the same! We’re covering down. We’re having fun. We’re nimble. We’re sharp. Sometimes messy. But we’re doing it our way. It’s good music. Really good music.”

Excellence - not as keeping to the page merely as the page expects (or the parent, the profession, the president, the principal, the precedent expects).

Excellence - lacking the heavy weight of ‘should.’

Excellence - a space where mistakes become riffs.

Excellence as a collaborative motion of creativity.

Possibility.

Focus and freedom, simultaneously.

Excellence as heart and soul.

Excellence as jazz.

In this day and age, that’s the kind of excellence that catches people’s attention. Because it’s courageous.

It’s free.

It’s real.

“It’s a jazz band,” he said once more. “That’s excellence. We’re in a C# minor right now. Light and fun. Grateful.”

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Your song?

Perhaps more importantly… when is a recent time you felt your song played with genuine excellence?  

Grateful excellence?

If the next couple measures of your song were to unfold with next-level, jazz-like excellence… what would it sound like?